Closer Check Appears Two Amendments Failed

Laramie, Wy – Unofficial results from the Secretary ofState's office has two of the four constitutional amendmentspassing and two failing. Voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that wouldhave let lawmakers consider limiting jury awards for pain andsuffering in medical malpractice lawsuits, but backed a companionmeasure aimed at weeding out frivolous lawsuits. Unofficial tallies show the caps Amendment "D" failedoutright, with 114,829 votes yes and 118,090 votes against. Themeasure would have given the Legislature power to limit the amountof non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medicalmalpractice lawsuits. But Amendment "C" barely passed with 123,957 yes votes and109,998 no votes. The measure would allow legislators to establisha panel to review a medical malpractice case before it reaches thecourts. For a constitutional amendment to pass in Wyoming, it needs asimple majority of votes cast in the general election. In this casethat would be at least 122,824 votes. Voters approved outright a separate amendment that allows theLegislature to give local governments more leeway in spending moneyon economic and industrial development projects. And another measure, Amendment "A," fell about a thousandvotes short of the majority needed. The measure would have allowedthe state to collect more money from school districts rich withmineral wealth and redistribute it to poorer districts.